LYNN — In an effort to recruit new officers amid a regional hiring shortage, the Police Department launched its largest marketing campaign aimed at encouraging residents to take the civil service exam.
In the last five years, Police Chief Christopher Reddy said the department’s turnover rate rose significantly, with more experienced officers retiring and fewer new recruits joining the police force. While Reddy said this police staffing shortage is not unique to Lynn, there remains a strong need for fresh faces at the Police Department.
“We’ve brought on approximately 100 officers in the last four to five years, so there’s been a big turnover — people have left the field and younger people are not coming on in the manner that they used to,” Reddy said. “When we took the test, there would be a line around Lynn English or Lynn Classical (to take the civil service exam). Last year when the civil service test was offered, we got the list of residents of Lynn, it’s just never enough to sustain the turnover that we have… We’re trying to be creative and have a big push to encourage young people to consider a career in law enforcement.”
With the help of consultant Kelli O’Hara, the founder of Boston-based public-relations consulting company Kelli from Boston LLC, the department produced a series of commercials featuring Brianna Anderson and Brendan Powicki, two police officers native to the city, to encourage other young Lynners to apply for the civil service exam by Jan. 16.
The advertisements, Public Information Officer Lt. Rick Connick said, have been geo-targeted toward Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and YouTube TV users in the region. After just two days online, Connick said the ads had already reached more than 200,000 viewers. By the time applications close for the civil service exam, he said the department expects the videos to reach anywhere from 500,000 to 1 million viewers.
Connick said the department will also launch a series of banner ads targeted at Lynn residents across online media outlets such as Lynn Community Television and Boston.com. The Commonwealth’s civil service system prioritizes Lynn residents in its application process.
“We hire local residents first, they get preference,” Reddy said. “Up to probably seven, eight, or nine years ago, we never exhausted the resident list — we just hired from that. But that’s not the case anymore… in the last five years at least, every single time we’ve gone into hiring, within a year we’ve had to go to the non-resident list.”
Reddy speculated that young people are likely hesitant to become police officers as a result of the recent national dialogues and protests regarding policing. He said that there’s “not just one way to be a police officer,” and that the law-enforcement service has shifted toward a diverse range of career options — from tech to traffic patrols, investigative units, and student resource officers.
Speaking about the series of advertisements, Reddy added that there is something special about seeing Lynn natives protect and serve the city that they know and love.
“These are all kids from the community who are now serving this community with a career in law enforcement. We want to emphasize that and show that we want more of the people who represent who we are as a community on our police force,” Reddy said. “This career is really a noble one, and it’s an opportunity to serve your community in a truly meaningful way, keep people safe, and help people feel good about their neighborhoods.”
Those who miss the Jan. 16 deadline to register for the civil service exam have until Jan. 30 to register late. Although applicants as young as 19 can apply, recruits must be 21 or older to be sworn in as Lynn Police officers.
